Unique Tactics to Get the Most Out of Facebook

You've had your Facebook profile for years. Although you love all the fun things it offers, you find yourself getting a bit bored with the same old. Well, lucky for you, there are fun tricks, or hacks, to freshen up your Facebook usage! Whether you want an interactive photo, to make a payment to a friend, or learn how to speak like a pirate, Facebook can make it happen!

1. Review Tagged Posts Pre-Posting

You know those unflattering shots of you that make you cringe? Well, you can eliminate those posts before they are blasted for the world to see. Thank goodness for that, too. The last thing you want to deal with is that accidental double chin that makes you want to crawl under your bed and hide for at least a week.

It's simple to tap into this hack, too. All you have to do is go to 'Settings.' Can't find it? Well, you can easily visit facebook.com/settings if you don't feel like scouring through icons. Go to the 'Timeline and Tagging' section, then 'Who can add things to my timeline?' You'll find a tab that says, 'Review posts friends tag you in before they appear on your timeline.' Hit 'Enable,' and you're all set. No more embarrassing posts!

2. Status Snapper

Ever run into a status posted by a friend that would be awesome (and fun) blackmail material down the road, but you notice their status magically disappears before you can take a screen grab? Status Snapper is a free app that eliminates this issue by allowing the user to quickly 'snap' a status with the quick click of a button. Names also get blurred out to lessen the humiliation of the palm-smacking poster.

Status Snapper

Quickly download the app and key into the new blue square icon in your search bar. Clicking that button while on Facebook allows you to get the option to 'snap' any status that is posted on your news feed. Click the 'snap' button and 'finish' to take a quick shot and archive the funny statuses you run across. You also have the option to add text to the snap as well. It could become a fun little game between you and your friends.

3. Shortcuts

We all know there are various shortcuts on our desktops and laptops, but did you know there are shortcuts for Facebook, too? They actually make life a lot quicker and more efficient when you learn the strokes. You can navigate from page to page with ease sans mouse.

Keystrokes:

Windows & Chrome/IE -- Alt

Windows & Firefox -- Alt + Shift

OS X & Firefox -- Function + Ctrl

OS X & All Other Browsers -- Option + Ctrl

Characters:

M: Open new chat message

1: Facebook home (news feed)

2: Your profile

3: Friend requests

4: New message & inbox

5: Notifications

6: Account settings

7: Activity log

8: Facebook main page

9: Facebook terms & policies

0: Facebook help desk

4. Go Offline to Selected Friends

If you are over getting stalked by your Great Aunt Mildred or your best frienemy whenever you log in to your profile, you can select who you want your profile to go invisible for. Chat with your BFFs without worry of your mom/neighbor/kids swooping in and stealing your time while you're chatting away.

All you have to do is go to the 'Settings' gear icon in the Facebook chat bar (in the bottom right-hand corn of your screen) and click 'Advanced Settings,' which will send you to the 'Advanced Chat Settings' window. Click the option that says 'All your friends see you except…' and enter who you don't want bugging you. Voila! You're invisible to the crowd you want to be incognito with!

Go Offline

5. Chat Without an Account

Just because one of your family members or friends doesn't have a profile doesn't mean they have to be excluded from all the Facebook fun. Facebook Messenger doesn't require a profile to utilize this app, so everyone can be part of your messaging group despite the lack of a profile.

All they have to do is download Facebook Messenger on their smartphone and instead of clicking 'Sign in with Facebook,' click 'Continue with phone number.' They will then be prompted to enter their digits and will receive a text with an activation code. Enter the code, and they will be granted access to all the bells and whistles the app has to offer. They won't miss out on any important convos, either.

6. Get Out of Friendship Debt

Did you know you could make payments via Facebook? Well, you can! Next time you forget to bring cash to your monthly GNO, you don't have to keep this debt looming over your head. In fact, you can pay back your friend instantly!

All you have to do is open a chat box with the person you would like to send money to, click the amount you'd like to send, insert your credit card information, then click pay. The money gets sent to your buddy in a matter of seconds. It's just another wonderful convenience of this ingenious website.

7. Summon a Ride

We've all had our moments where we've hit the bar and needed a ride home. Perhaps you aren't signed up with Uber or Lyft either. Oh, and a taxi could take forever or be way more expensive than you'd like to deal with for a quick ride home.

Never fear! Facebook happens to have a partnership with both Uber and Lyft for you to utilize in these exact situations. Go into your Facebook Messenger app, click the '…' icon, then find the button that says 'Request a ride,' this will then bring you to the option of either calling in a ride to Lyft or Uber by using your Facebook profile. Easy peasy.

8. Become a Pirate

If you'd like to get a laugh from your Facebook profile, this is a fun little hack for you. Instead of going with the typical language selection of English, you can actually view your profile in English Pirate instead! It's one of those things that just brings a smile to your face every time you log in.

It's simple to do, too! All you have to do is go to your profile page and scroll to the bottom left corner under all of your profile information. You will then find a small box that shows which language you have selected for your profile. Click the '+' button and you will see a long list of languages to choose from. Select English (Pirate), and watch your profile transform into a hilarious pirate-y language. Arrr matey.

Techy Tricks

Although Facebook is one of those websites that's already fun on its own, these hacks up the ante when it comes to your profile usage. Pretty soon your friends and family will see you as a tech guru. They also make your digital life more fun and easy too!

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